Undergarment.



PATENTED APR. 26,1904.

No. 758,375. e. A. MATTERN. T UNDERGARMENT.

ABPLIOATION FILED JAN. 18. 1904.

N0 MODEL.

w N w UNITED STATES Patented April 26, 1904.

GEORGE A; MATTERN, or BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA.

UNDERGARIVIENT.

SPECIFI IGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 758,375, dated April 26, 1904.

Application filed January 18, 1904. 7 Serial No. 189,452. (Ho model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. MATTERN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Berkeley, Alameda county, State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Undergarments; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to the class of underwear, and particularly to knitted undergarments, known as union suits. In suits of this kind wherein all the parts are united to form a single garment the difiiculties of fit, comfort, and durability are somewhat accentuated, in that each part cannot be made to take care of its own problems to the fullest extent, because by reason of the union each modifies the other, thereby requiring a mutual adjustment or compromise diflicult to secure. This is particularly the case in the middle region or zone, where on account of the shape of the body, widely difierent as it is in front and back, more pronounced strains under varied movements require compensations in construction of the garment to give fit and comfort to the wearer and durability to the article worn.

The object of my invention may be now stated to be to provide a knitted union suit which as a whole and in every portion, and especially in the middle region, shall fit the form,with a construction adapted for the several strains, thereby giving comfort to the wearer and lengthening the life of the garment.

My invention consists in the novel construction of the knitted union suit, which I shall now describe by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front view of a knitted union suit embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a back View of the same.

The entire garment is composed of two sleeve-pieces A, a trunk-piece B in one or in more parts, (here shown as in two parts,) two leg-pieces C, and an abdominal piece D, all made of knit goods. The sleeve-pieces are united to the trunk-pieces by the seams a. The trunk-pieces when made, as shown, in two parts are united in the back by a seam b and are adapted to be fastened in the front at of elasticity being about ninety to ten.

5' by buttons or other fastenings. The abdominal piece is secured to the trunk 'pieces by the seams cl, and the leg-pieces are secured to the. abdominal piece by the seams 0, said leg-pieces in the .back having the overlapping gores secured by buttons 0, as seen in Fig. 2.

The extremities of the abdominal piece are united in front either by the buttons 03 or by a seam.

There are two features of the abdomina piece D to be noted which enter into my invention. One is its relation as to position to the contiguous pieces, and the other is the relation as to direction of its elastic phase to d of its ends lying at the front extremity of the abdomen. The piece D by this shape is thus fashioned to a fit." With regard to the relative disposition of the elastic phase of piece D it is well known that knit goods stretch in one direction much more than in the other, the proportion of the two degrees The direction of greatest stretch I refer to as the elastic phase of the goods. The other direction I call the non-elastic phase. In the usual disposition of the goods in undergarments the elastic phase is disposed in the direction'of the circumference of the body and limbs of the wearer, as this provides for a better fit of the garment and for its stretching under the ordinary expansive strains, aswell as for its adjustment to varying degrees of diameter within reasonable bounds. This disposition of the elastic phase of the goods is preserved, as indicated in the drawings, in the sleeve-pieces A, the trunk-pieces B, and the leg-pieces C. The strains which occur at the hips or middle region of the body are, however, more pronounced and of great variety, due to the bending in every direction. These strains are best compensated for and support for the body best given by disposing the abdominal piece D in such a. manner that its elastic phase is approximately at right angles to the elastic phase of adjoining partsthat is, its greatest stretch is in the direction of its width or transverse to its length, approximately up and down of the garment, as seen in the drawrelative directions of the two portions will be preserved in order to keep the fit.

Having thus described my invention, what 1 claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A knitted undergarment of the unionsuit type, composed of sleeve, trunk and leg pieces of knit goods each piece having the elastic phase ofthe goods in the direction of its circumference, and an abdominal piece of knit goods having the elastic phase of the goods in the direction of the width of said piece, at substantially right angles to the di- 'hand.

rection of the elastic phase of the other pieces of the garment, said abdominal piece intervening between and uniting the trunk and leg pieces and entirely encircling the garment with its back portion crossing the waist region approximately horizontally and its front portion curving downwardly in substantially the groin-lines from the hips to the point of the abdomen.

2. A knitted undergarment of the unionsuit type, composed of sleeve, trunk and leg pieces of knit goods each piece having the elastic phase of the goods in the direction of its circumference, and an abdominal piece of knit goods having the elastic phase of the goods in the direction of the width of said piece, at substantially right angles to the direction of the elastic phase of the other pieces of the garment, said abdominal piece intervening between and uniting the trunk and leg pieces and entirely encircling the garment with its back portion relatively wide and crossing the waist region approximately horizontally, and its front portion relatively narrow v and curving downwardly with converging edges in substantially the groin-lines from the hips to the, point ofrthe abdomen.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my GEORGE A. MATTERN. Witnesses:

WALTER F. VANE,

D. B. RICHARDS. 

